Onward
by VinEsquire
Summary: After the small town of Wayward Pines is rocked by twin explosions at the Sheriff's station and at the school, Major Hassler of the "Idaho National Guard" is sent in to re-establish security and root out the insurgents. Meanwhile, up in the mountain complex, there are other threats to consider.
1. Chapter 1

Wayward Pines

Onward

By: VinEsquire

August 2015

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The townsfolk of Wayward Pines watched as a military convoy rolled into town. They could literally feel the street rumble beneath their feet as the hummvee and two trucks made their way to the hospital. Another truck had stopped in front of town hall and soldiers had started streaming out of the back. Heavily armed soldiers.

This was martial law. Not that the tiny town didn't already have a martial law feel to it. But it was different now. There were simultaneous twin bombings at the sheriff's station and at the school.

With the arrival of 40 soldiers and the already present dozen or so state police, the security situation should be markedly improved. The small town only had 700 or so residents.

Some of the townsfolk actually felt a little bit safer knowing the town was being flooded with security. Others were hesitant. Still others, a small group who yearned to be free from this crazy town, feared they would eventually be discovered and hanged.

When the convoy made it to the hospital, a dozen soldiers hopped out of the back of each of the two trucks, securing the perimeter with their weapons drawn. One of the soldiers opened the passenger door of the hummvee and a young but serious-looking soldier stepped out. He tried to look alive, but he was so tired. Tired tired tired. He and his entourage walked into the hospital.

"Major Hassler, Idaho National Guard," said the leader of the group as he introduced himself.

"I know who you are," said the nurse at reception.

"Can you direct me to the room where the town's sheriff is?"

"Right this way, sir."

Hassler followed the nurse down a long corridor. He saw that there were a couple of other rooms with injured patients. None of the injuries appeared life-threatening.

At the end of the corridor was the room assigned to Jason, the town's sheriff. His deputy undersheriff was keeping him company. Jason was being examined by one of the hospital's doctors.

"He's likely to make a full recovery," reported Dr. Stevens.

"Thank you, doctor," said Hassler.

Stevens scribbled a few notes onto Jason's chart and then hung it at the end of the bed.

"Will you guys please excuse us? I have an urgent matter I need to discuss with Jason alone."

"Of course," said the nurse. Stevens, the nurse, and Jason's deputy filed out of the room and closed the door behind them. The three women weren't exactly sure what to do, so they wandered off in different directions and gave Hassler some privacy.

"You're being relieved from internal security operations," said Hassler in a calm but authoritative voice.

"Who's replacing me?" asked Jason. He was annoyed, but he had a feeling this would happen.

"James, from the quote-unquote Idaho State Police," said Hassler. He thought about doing airquotes with his fingers, but knew Jason wasn't usually the joking type.

"Not you, Vince?" asked Jason.

"No. I've got…. other priorities. This comes straight from my dad."

"I'm a little surprised you even had time to leave your high-tech mountain fortress," said Jason, partially in annoyance.

Vince and Jason were known to be rivals, even enemies, from time to time. They had differing visions of how the town of Wayward Pines should be run. However, Vincent Hassler was responsible for external security while Jason was in charge of internal security. That gave Jason the final say on how the townspeople were treated. That is, until the day Director-General Adam Hassler decides to remove Jason. Adam thought the town needed to be run by a native of Wayward Pines, someone who grew up in town. Vince was lucky enough to have grown up in the mountain complex and spent time on various missions scouting the nearby area with other explorers. In all of his teenage years, he maybe spent a total of 10 days in Wayward Pines. Still, he thought Jason was too heavy-handed.

The attack on the sheriff's office triggered a "national security incident" which temporarily put Vince in charge of the entire town.

"I'm going to be honest with you, Jason. My dad is this close to having you replaced. You and your class one buddies and other next generation kids. Or new generation. Or whatever it is you call yourselves. You're terrorizing the townsfolk with these circus stunt reckonings. You're creating insurgents and you're wasting my time. My people should be on the fence or out in the field counter-attacking against the abbies but instead they're here. So this better be the last time I leave my so-called mountain fortress. Do you understand?"

Jason was used to being the dominant person in the room and did not take kindly to being scolded. However, he understood that Major Hassler was not to be trifled with. At least not today. Jason nodded to confirm that he heard the major.

Hassler walked toward the door.

"You're half-disappointed I wasn't killed in the blast, aren't you?" asked a defiant Jason.

Hassler turned back to face Jason.

"Jase. You're a jackass and a nuisance. But your death would bring me no joy. You can also rest assured that when my men find the idiots that did this, they'll hang."

"Find the Burke kid," said Jason.

Hassler had an annoyed look on his face.

"You're serious?"

"I know you and your dad were friends were the Burkes, but look at the timing. Burke gets reanimated from cryostasis. He leaves the hospital and wanders off into the woods. Then, less than five hours later, my station is bombed?"

"You think Burke organized this in just a few hours? Knowing nobody in town? After wandering off seemingly disoriented from his reanimation?"

"The timing, Vince. It would be a ridiculous coincidence."

Hassler remained annoyed.

"My people will find Burke and I'll interrogate him myself. In the meantime, I strongly suggest stronger oversight whenever new arrivals are processed through the hospital."

"I agree," said Jason.

Hassler left Jason's hospital room and his entourage followed him out of the hospital.

As Hassler opened the door to his hummvee, a nurse came running out of hospital.

"Vince! You don't believe Jason, right? Ben wouldn't do this."

"Amy, if you know where Ben is, you need to tell me."

Amy just stood there without saying a word.

"Look, I'm going to find Ben myself, and then I'm going to beat the living daylights out of him. For wasting my time. Is that what you'd rather have?"

Amy continued her silent treatment.

"Okay, fine," said Hassler, defeated. "At least tell him he needs to surrender, at a time of his convenience. But soon. You know, before Jason heals up and is back in charge."

Amy smiled and gave a quick peck on Hassler's left cheek.

"Thanks!" said a giddy Amy. It was unusual for her to be giddy.

"By the way," added Amy. "The nurse at reception, Samantha, thinks you're cute."

"First Pam Pilcher and now you. You nurses can't help butting into people's personal lives."

"It's in the job description," said Amy.

"Yea, well, this town just got rocked by two explosions. There are patients in that hospital. Take care of them. Make _that_ your job description," teased Hassler.

Hassler climbed into his vehicle, shut the door, and told his driver to floor it.

Amy watched as the hummvee sped away.

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James Rodgers was usually the deputy supervisor of security on the mountain. Today, he was playing the role of a state trooper. A sergeant of the Idaho State Police. What a farce. It was his first time in the town of Wayward Pines. He thought it was quaint. He had just finished a meal at one of the local diners and returned to his patrol car.

He got into his car and turned the ignition on. A car. He never thought he'd actually drive one of these things, although he had been trained on the simulators. He got on the radio.

"Car six is code eight," said James. Code eight meant he was back in service.

"10-4, car 6," came the voice of a female dispatcher.

"James, check in," said another voice on the radio.

"What's up, V?" asked James.

"Are your troopers looking for Benjamin Burke right now?"

"They're investigating, but I think Burke is on the list, why?"

"Do me a favor, can you bring him to me if he's found? Make sure he doesn't get roughed up. I need him in a cooperative state of mind."

"Who do you think I am? Jason?" asked James, a little bit insulted.

"Seriously dude, Burke might be a little out of control. Just tase him or something. Don't let Jason or his guys get near him."

"10-4, boss," said James. "You heading to town hall?"

"I'm on my way back to base. I'll be back in town later tonight."

"Gotcha."

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Vincent Hassler's hummvee made it back to base without incident. Two "Idaho State Police" patrol cars had escorted the hummvee since the three national guard trucks were left in town. There was one truck each guarding the town hall, the hospital, and the Wayward Pines Academy.

Almost as soon as he stepped out of his hummvee, various aides were trying to grab his attention.

"Major, sir. Brigadier General Humboldt and the Director-General would like to see you as soon as possible in Briefing Room One on E-deck," said Hassler's chief administrative aide. She wore a military uniform, but never went out into the field.

"Got, it."

"Sir, here are the latest reports from Project Prometheus which you requested this morning," said an aide in a white labcoat. The aide handed Hassler three file folders, two blue ones and one manilla.

"Thank you," replied Hassler. He opened one of the folders and took brief glimpses of some of the contents before closing the folder again. He entered one of the elevators and pressed the button for E-deck. The rest of his entourage did not follow.

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Briefing Room One.

"These guys, they weren't volunteers like you and me," said Guarino. "They're criminals! They're murderers. They're rapists. Some, I assume, are arsonists. What if I can't control them out in the field?"

"Calm down, son. These guys were non-violent offenders. Pilcher wasn't an idiot."

"So drug dealers, great," Guarino responded sarcastically.

General Humboldt threw down a few files.

"Tax evasion. Tax evasion. Tax evasion. Rape. Oh, wait, no. Tax evasion. Are these guys seriously going to give you trouble?"

"If they're all pointdexter accountants, they'll be of no use to me."

Rocky Guarino was the chief of the Mount Pilcher fire brigades. Fire season was just around the corner. In two months, the forests around Wayward Pines would be susceptible to dangerous wildfires. While that meant that the abbies would temporarily move away from the area and migrate north, it also meant Fire Chief Guarino would new firefighter recruits in his ranks. In previous years, the soldiers simply shifted from fighting the abbies to fighting fires. However, this year, a handful of soldiers were being held in reserve in case they were needed to hold security in town. Yet another contingent of soldiers was being assigned to some secret mission led by the Director-General's son. Guarino was going to be short-handed at least 20 firefighters.

"We'll reanimate them and have them go through training. You can evaluate them in a month," said Director-General Hassler.

"Sir, I still think this…."

Before Guarino could finish his sentence, the three of them were interrupted by a corporal who knocked on the door and then entered.

"Sirs, Major Hassler has arrived," said the corporal.

"Thank you, corporal," said the Director-General. "Chief Guarino, you're dismissed."

Guarino walked out of the room as Major Hassler walked in.

"Please, have a seat," said Adam Hassler.

The younger Hassler took a seat at the conference table across from his father and Brigadier General Joseph Humboldt.

"Is the situation at Pines under control?" asked Humboldt.

"The area is secured. I've got over 30 soldiers posted throughout the city. I've also put James Rodgers in charge of the investigation.

"If you need more men, borrow from Rifle Company Charlie. I want this insurgency crushed asap," said Humboldt.

"Understood, sir."

"I would like you to put Project Prometheus on hold for the next few days," said the Director-General.

"Yes, sir. I plan on it. Pines is my priority and will remain so until we can straighten out the insurgent situation."

"You still think Prometheus is worth pursuing?" asked Humboldt.

"Yes, sir, I do. We can put it on hold for a few days. Once I'm back, it will be as if there were not pause.

"If you're putting Prometheus on hold, it makes me wonder why you're here on base at all? Why are you not down in Pines?" asked Humboldt.

"I'm meeting with my scientists one last time tonight to line up the workflow. It won't take long. After that, I will make my way back to Pines tonight."

"Very good," said Humboldt. "Should I have Lieutenant Rose lend you any of her men on your return trip back to town?"

"No need, sir. I'll ask her to put a squad or two on overnight alert in case I need to call them. But I think we're sufficiently manned in Pines right now."

"Do me a favor, Ani," said the Director-General. "Bring Tim down with you to Pines tonight."

"Yes, sir."

Adam Hassler had a habit of calling his eldest son "Ani," the Japanese word for "older brother." It was something that his wife did at first, and Adam eventually did it was well. Vincent Hassler and his younger brother Timothy were both half Caucasian and half Asian. They were a rarity in what was left of the human race.

"You're dismissed, Major," said Humboldt.

Vincent Hassler got up from his seat and pushed the chair back under the table.

"Good night, sirs," said Hassler.

"Good night. And good luck," said the Director-General.

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Scientific Research Wing.

Dr. Melody Temple was a zoologist in her former life. In this life, she had been drafted to study her two current subjects: Hercules and Leo. Major Hassler was very impressed with Melody. In four short months, Leo had already learned about 100 words in sign language. Hercules was less inclined, but also possessed a small degree of curiosity. Hercules and Leo were at the center of Project Prometheus.

Vincent Hassler took one of the elevators at the south bank down to sub-level 13. He had this entire level sealed. Nobody in or out except for his chosen few.

Dr. Temple and her staff met Hassler when he stepped off of the elevator.

"Welcome back," said Ms. Kim, one of Temple's assistants. She had an undergrad degree in psychology but then decided go to law school for some reason. Hassler had no need for lawyers, so he decided to see if she would be of any use to Temple's team.

"How are they doing?" asked Hassler.

"Well," said Temple.

"I'm going to be out-of-facility for the next several days, possibly longer."

Leo walked up to Hassler and performed a few signs.

"He says he misses you," said Temple. She thought it was cute, but somewhat heart-breaking.

"Me too," said Hassler. He knew that Leo could understand his voice, but Hassler also awkwardly made the signs for the two words. In all this time, Leo had learned more signs than Hassler had.

"I'll be back before you know it, okay?" said Hassler as if he were talking to a child.

"High five?" asked Hassler. He held his right hand up in the air and Leo slapped it lightly.

Hassler also waved hello to Hercules. Hercules was slightly older than Leo. Hercules was also a little bit less friendly. However, neither were aggressive, and that was a huge plus. Hercules waved back.

"I'll stay in radio contact," said Hassler to Temple. "Channel 36 if you need me."

"No worries," said Temple. "Focus on Pines. We'll be fine."

"Sorry, sir," interrupted Mr. Decker. "One thing. There has been a small group that has been harassing a few members of our staff. They object to us holding the abbies down here."

"Who are these clowns?" asked Hassler.

"Your brother is one of them," said a reluctant Decker. "He may be their leader."

"Ugh," sighed an annoyed Hassler. Though, this kind of explained why his father asked him to take Tim down to Wayward Pines.

"I'll take care of it," said Hassler.

"Thank you, sir," said Decker.

"If that's all, I bid you all farewell. At least for the time being."

Hassler went back up the elevator. One he got out, he hopped onboard the hummvee that had been waiting for him. His brother was in a second humvee.

"Jeff, take me back to Pines," said Hassler.

"Yes, sir."

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"James, go catch some shut eye," said Hassler. It was now a little past one o'clock in the morning. They'd start the investigation up again at 8 a.m. sharp.

James made his way to his designated room in the Wayward Pines Hotel. The majority of the state troopers and soldiers were also instructed to rest up before they reported for duty again in less than 7 hours.

Vincent Hassler was assigned the penthouse suite. His brother Timothy received the next nicest suite. They were basically treated like royalty in this tiny town.

"Wanna join me for a chat?" asked Vince. The two brothers e-mailed often but didn't physically see each other for weeks at a time even when they were both in the mountain base.

"Shouldn't you catch some z's?" asked Tim.

"Nah. My internal clock never lets me fall asleep before 3."

The two of them made their way to the top floor. Vincent turned on the television but neither of them were watching.

"This thing with you and your friends harassing my science people; it has to stop."

"Did Dad say that?" asked Tim.

"No. I'm not sure if Dad knows. This comes from me. It has to stop."

"We shouldn't be experimenting on the abbies," insisted Tim. "They're humans too. They have human rights."

"We're not experimenting on them. Melody is teaching them sign language for cryin' out loud."

"Just teaching them sign language? Then why all the security? They should be free to roam around just like the rest of us."

"The security is for their protection. So they aren't gawked at or worse by the various staffers at the mountain base. Come on, bro. You think I'd experiment on people."

"Yes. If you were of the mindset that they weren't people. Like if they were just deer or bears or something."

"I'm not experimenting on them," Vince repeated.

"Anyway, you should be here administering over Wayward Pines. You'd make a good mayor. I can tell. People look up to you."

"Nah. The mayor should be someone who has spent a good deal of time here. Anderson's the right choice."

"Anderson caves in to Jason's every whim."

"Yea, well, we'll need to change that."

"Dad's gonna put you in as mayor. I can feel it."

"Ha. I'm sure the townspeople will love having a 23 yr-old tell them what to do."

"They let a 20 yr old Jason tell them what to do!"

"Yea, but that's out of fear. A bunch of 12 year olds could rule out of fear if you gave them enough guns."

"You know what's the first thing I would do if I ran this town?"

"Go on."

"I'd turn all the televisions back on. Maybe even give the people Xboxes and Playstations or whatever. People need fun distractions! Remember that show we used to watch before we were all frozen in time. Game of Thrones? There was this one nobleman who was going to refuse to spend tons of money on a wedding or a festival or whatever and then a second noble woman points out that the commonfolk hunger for more than just food, they crave distraction. And if the rulers don't provide it, the commonfolk create their own! These insurgents wouldn't exist if we just made their lives more fun!" said Tim.

"Ha. I actually _have_ thought of that briefly. The whole bread and circuses idea from the Roman times. There's some validity to it. Though, the biggest hurdle is their curiosity. It's only natural to wonder what's on the other side of the wall."

"Then just tell them."

"Yea, and they'll all just cause mayhem because they think there's nothing to lose. They're already facing the end of the world and all."

"You ever wonder whether Pilcher was lying about that happening to the first town?"

"I guess. But there have been documented occurrences throughout history. Especially when places get hit by serious natural disasters. Chaos ensues. Human nature, I guess."

"Ever wonder whether Dad should've just supported Pam Pilcher instead of avenging David's death?"

"Yea, that was a giant cluster-eff. I'm sure Dad had his reasons."

"The kids from the Ark scare me dude. They're all pretty much like Jason. Psychopaths, each and every one."

"Yea, I'm working on that."

"Well work faster dude!" said Tim.

"I go at my own pace!"

They both laughed.

"Anyway," said Vincent. "I'm going to go lay in bed, maybe catch a few hours of shut-eye."

"No prob, brother."

Tim made his way to the suite door.

"Tim, join me in the town council meeting tomorrow morning."

"Seriously?"

"Yea, I want you there."

"Sure. Good night, brother."

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Wayward Pines Town Hall.

"Major Hassler, it is an honor to host you as a special guest," said Mayor Anderson McCready. Part of Anderson thought about saluting the major, but he settled for shaking hands.

"And Mr. Hassler, it is nice to meet you," said the Mayor as he addressed Tim. They also shook hands.

"Mayor McCready, I was wondering whether you had an extra spot on your council for a new council member."

McCready smiled.

"Of course, we would love to add you to our council."

The council was really just three people: the mayor, the town's comptroller, and the sheriff. Although the mayor was legally the leader of the town, Jason held the most sway as a matter of reality.

"Actually, I would like to place my brother in as a junior councilmember."

McCready looked confused for a second but then smiled and nodded.

"Of course," he said.

"This is simply a request. It is not an order. And the request comes from me, not my father."

"We welcome your brother's contributions to the council," said McCready.

"Tim, tell the mayor and the comptroller what you think about the tvs."

Tim hesitated for a second, but then explained his idea to set up a broadcast station in town. He hoped to also perhaps bring in video game consoles and eventually get them connected somehow so that the townspeople could play against each other in some type of intranet. They'd shy away from games that were too violent. They'd also stay away from broadcasting any tv shows that were excessively violent.

"What a marvelous idea," said McCready with a wide grin.

Vincent Hassler was glad that McCready seemed happy, but he also had the sense that McCready simply indulged anyone who asserted themselves.

"How about we give Tim the title 'Minister of Culture'?" said McCready. "He could also be in charge of other aspects of raising morale among the people."

"I think I'll be fine with just council member," said Tim.

"We'll go with that," said Vincent. "Now, I understand that there are three issues you would like to discuss with me, Mr. Mayor. Town security, food delivery, and the electric grid. Is this correct?"

"Yes, Major, it is."

"Go ahead, Mr. Mayor."

The mayor requested that one of Vincent's rifle platoons remain in town until the insurgent situation was resolved. Vincent reassured the mayor that this would be the case. There was some concern that some of the recent dairy products included sour milk. There was also some concern about the electric grid as two times in the past month, there were brownouts. They only lasted a few seconds, but the residents were concerned. Vincent promised to look into both the food and the electric grid issue.

The next thing Vincent wanted to discuss was whether the town was adequately absorbing the new residents. In particular, he wanted to know if the cryo-stasis division should decrease the frequency with which they sent new residents to Wayward Pines. Before he got a response, he was interrupted by one of his sergeants.

"Major, sir, we have a situation at the sheriff's station."

Major Hassler grabbed his camouflaged baseball cap off of the conference table and rushed outside.

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Wayward Pines Sheriff station

"They need to be reckoned!" screamed Jason with a shotgun in his hand. He had somehow made it out of the hospital and was flanked by his two deputies.

"Stand back!" yelled Sergeant Rodgers. He was flanked by five of his state troopers.

James and his men had found and arrested Ben Burke and a couple of others. The prisoners were being held for questioning.

It was unclear who shot first, but a gunfight ensued. Everyone took cover and continued firing. Fortunately, they were all relatively horrible shots. After a minute, they all held position and held fire, waiting for someone from the other side to make a move.

After another couple minutes of near silence, two hummvees arrived at the scene and screeched to a halt.

"Everyone lay down their weapons this instant!" demanded Major Hassler.

James and his state troopers did as they were told, but Jason defied the order. Hassler had two of his soldiers shoot tear gas canisters into the general area where Jason and his people were.

Jason came out of the smokey haze, coughing and barely able to breath. Jason, his deputy undersheriff Jessica, and Jason's "class one" friend Paul were immediately taken into custody.

"You must be out of your goddamn mind," yelled Major Hassler about two inches from Jason's face.

"Detain them," ordered Hassler. "Have Lieutenant Rose come into town, pick them up, and then transport them to base."

"Aye, sir."

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Will Major Hassler root out the insurgents?

What was Ben Burke's role in the bombings?

What will Hassler do with Ben?

What is Project Prometheus?

What is Hassler going to do with Jason?

Stay tuned and find out!


	2. Chapter 2: Outward Bound

Wayward Pines

Onward: Chapter 2 - Outward Bound

By: VinEsquire

November 2015

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Major Hassler walked into the sheriff's station with Rodgers and a few of his men, the faux Idaho state troopers. There were six people in lock-up, three each in two cells.

"Bring him into the interrogation room, please," said Hassler. He pointed to Ben Burke, who seemed more confused than terrified.

James and one of his men opened the cell door as others placed their hands on their pistols, just to be ready.

Ben seemed to willingly follow the men to the interrogation room. He was left in the room without his hands restrained and was asked to sit down in one of the chairs.

Hassler soon entered and he closed the door behind him. The room wasn't dark, but neither was it well-lit.

"Ben, I'm not sure if you remember me. We went to school together, a long long time ago."

Ben did remember Vince Hassler from his days at Puget Sound High School. They didn't hang out in the same social circles, but they acknowledged each other from time to time as they passed in the halls.

"I remember you," said Ben as he nodded slightly.

Hassler took the seat across from Ben.

"First, old business. I'd like to apologize to you for any time in the past that my friends or I bullied you or otherwise made you feel like an outcast. That was wrong and even though we were young, it shouldn't have happened," said Hassler.

Ben shook his head slightly.

"No, no. You treated me okay. I don't remember you being mean to me or anything," said Ben.

That was mostly true. Hassler was at times even protective of young Ben. However, that was more because their fathers were colleagues. If it weren't for that fact, Hassler probably would not have cared. The realization that he wasn't always a nice guy in high school bothered him a tiny bit.

"Still, I understand that sometimes, being left out can feel almost as bad as being actively pushed around. To whatever extent the more popular kids in school excluded you from various group activities, that was unfortunate."

Although Hassler himself wasn't one of the more popular kids, he had often been well-liked enough to be semi-attached to the cool crowd. He wondered if he should have made more of an effort to also bring in some of the kids that were ignored.

Hassler let Ben sit there for several seconds in silence before he moved on.

"Now, to the business at hand," said Hassler. "I understand that you've spent time in Wayward Pines before, a little over three years ago. Do you remember your time here?"

"Pretty much as if it were yesterday," said Ben.

"Good. Good."

"Strange, I'm not sure I remember you being around last time. I guess you were just here in the mountain base with Pilcher and the other overseers."

"Actually, my father and I, and a team of about a couple dozen, were on the West Coast. Near where San Francisco formerly stood, to be exact. We were preparing a ship to sail across the Pacific and explore other parts of the world. Specifically, we were going to land on a few islands and see if they were untouched by the abbies. Places like Hawaii or Guam. Perhaps normal human beings still exist somewhere. Or perhaps there was a different kind of evolutionary path. We were just days from setting sail when suddenly a remote alarm was triggered. My dad set up an alert so that if the fence was compromised and abbies made it into the town, all of the field teams would be notified. Dad was unable to make establish contact with Dr. Pilcher, but he reached some of the kids in the ark who reported that abbies were overrunning the town. So a bunch of the field teams returned to Wayward Pines to help clear out the abbies. What's the last thing you remember? Were the abbies in town?"

"The last thing I remember was looking down an elevator shaft. My dad heroically detonated an improvised explosive that I believe killed off all the abbies that were chasing us. I must've blacked out from the explosion or something. The next second, I was waking up at the hospital and Amy was the nurse tending to me."

"Okay, that's good. That squares with the details that I've been told by Amy and the others," said Hassler.

"Why were your soldiers looking for me?" asked Ben.

"I'm not sure if you are aware, but very shortly after you walked out of the Wayward Pines Hospital, there were twin explosions in town. One of them was actually right outside this very building we are sitting in."

Hassler saw that Ben was a little surprised. This was especially true since Ben didn't see any sign of damage to the sheriff's station.

"The former town sheriff suspected you had something to do with it," continued Hassler.

"Me?" said a bewildered Ben. Hassler saw the surprise in Ben's face in addition to the tone of his voice.

"The timing was a little bit hard to explain," said Hassler. "The bombings occurred soon after you walked away from the hospital. Perhaps the people behind this merely used your presence as a subterfuge in order to throw the scent off of themselves, there's that possibility."

"But why frame _me_?" asked Ben.

"That's a good question. I'm going to do some digging. I need you to just hang tight for a moment."

Hassler left Ben alone in the interrogation room and walked over to the surveillance room.

"Thoughts?" Hassler asked his two trusted aides, James Rodgers and Michaela O'Shea.

"His surprise seemed genuine," said Michaela.

"Yea, I'm not buying that he's the ringleader of all this," added James.

"How about those three characters?" asked Hassler, pointing to three of the other prisoners. "Do we have the files on them?"

"Yep. Here you go, boss," said James as he handed over three folders.

Although there were five others detained, two of them were merely spouses of suspects. The spouses may or may not have been involved.

"We think the leader of the group is this guy," said James, indicating the first folder.

Hassler opened up the folder. The gentleman in question was a big guy. Six foot four, 220 pounds. He was a football player in his college years. A quarterback. Got into a car accident and wound up in Wayward Pines. Manny Sanchez of Boise State. He was projected to go pro, albeit in one of the lower rounds.

"On top of being found with various materials to build the explosives, these three were also known to be the main proponents of reanimating Benjamin Burke from stasis," said James.

"So, either Burke is somehow their leader," said Michaela.

"Or they are the ones setting him up for the fall," finished Hassler.

"Boss, at first glance, it wouldn't seem like Burke has any connection to the other prisoners. They would not have met during his previous time in Wayward Pines," said James.

"Sir, are you sure you want to leave Burke's former girlfriend out of this?" asked Michaela.

Hassler nodded.

"The nurse?" asked James.

"She was actually the loudest voice in getting Burke reanimated. Louder than Sanchez," said Michaela.

"I've got people following her," said Hassler. "If she's involved, we'll find out. Anyway, her prior relationship with Ben complicates things. Her motivation might just be for love or companionship, with no connection to these bombings. I'm not hauling her in just yet."

"You mean, because you and her used to date?" asked Michaela.

"No such thing ever happened," insisted Hassler. He was a little tired of the rumors. The town was such a hotbed for gossip. It annoyed him to no end. He and Amy shared a milkshake one night about a year ago during one of the few times he was in town. They were platonic friends.

"I'm just saying, sir. Your judgment may be compromised here. Not to mention you knew Ben from your former lives in the 20th century."

"You can be assured, Tech Sergeant O'Shea, that if I find out either Ben or Amy are involved, I'll execute them myself," said Hassler.

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 **Four Days Later. Somewhere in the woods outside of Mount Pilcher.**

"How are the new recruits doing, Rock?" asked Hassler.

"Acceptable, I guess," said Rocky. "When is your expedition heading out?"

"Soon. Probably two weeks."

"Good luck, dude."

The two of them chatted for a couple more minutes about personal topics. They eventually shook hands and parted. Rocky watched Major Hassler drive off in his hummvee. It was not typical of Vincent Hassler to drive himself, but once in a while, he enjoyed being behind the wheel.

Rocky then turned his attention to his new squad of recruits. Criminals. A bunch of criminals. Well, one of them used to be the sheriff of Wayward Pines. Vincent Hassler had threatened Jason with the death penalty after the little stunt at the sheriff's station a few days back. Hassler offered Jason the chance to redeem himself and serve the town by being a part of Chief Guarino's firefighting crews. Jason's deputy Jessica and his friend Paul jumped at the offer. Jason himself took a little more convincing before acquiescing.

The remainder of Guarino's newbies were tax evaders and embezzlers. To Guarino's surprise, they were quite adept at the physical challenges and were likely in better shape than the former town sheriff.

"You think they'll let us rejoin the town after fire season?" asked Jessica. The question was directed at Rocky, but Jason overheard.

"I'm not sure," admitted Rocky. "That's really not up to me. But I will put a good word in for you if you perform your duties well."

Jessica smiled. Jason was less optimistic.

"Hassler's just going to kill us after he has no need for us anymore," said Jason. "It's what I would do."

"Well, I guess you're lucky that he's nothing like you," said an annoyed Rocky.

"I'm not so sure. You'll see. This world is run by people who are cruel and merciless. Nice guys finish last, chief."

"And look at where you are now," teased Rocky. "Looks like cruel and merciless put you on prisoner work release."

Jason was annoyed, but he knew it was true. But he also knew he was right. Maybe cruel people sometimes ended up on the losing side of things, but the winners in society are all cruel. Either they started out that way, or they eventually became that way. There were no exceptions.

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 **Seven days after incident.**

 **Wayward Pines Town Hall. Office 401.**

James Rodgers gently knocked on the door that was already slightly ajar.

"Please, come in," said Major Hassler who had been at his desk reading up on various reports. His forces had rounded up a handful of other co-conspirators from the group that had perpetrated the twin bombings from a week ago. They were dealt with in a swift manner.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" said James.

"Yea. Wanted to say congrats and a job well done. It looks like the investigation wrapped this morning."

"Yep. We're pretty sure we got all the members of the group."

"Glad to hear it."

Hassler smiled and Rodgers couldn't help but smile back.

"James, I wanted to gauge how comfortable you'd be staying in town for a little while longer?"

"How long?" asked a curious James.

"Maybe two months?" responded Hassler.

James seemed to think about it for about half a minute. Hassler didn't interrupt. He wanted James to be sure of his decision.

"I guess it would be okay. I would miss the base, but there are some nice things about town."

"Cool. Thanks for your flexibility, James."

"No problem, V. Hey, oh. May I speak freely?"

"Sure. No need to ask permission with me."

"Since I'm staying in town, can I ask your guys to take those corpses down by the carousel in the park? They seriously creep me out. Jason was a true psycho."

Hassler chuckled a little.

"Absolutely. In fact, make that your first order of business as the new sheriff," said Hassler as he tossed a silver star-shaped badge into Rodgers' hand.

James Rodgers stared at his new badge for a few seconds. He then pinned it onto his bulletproof vest. Although he and several of his colleagues were in town under the guise of being Idaho state troopers, none of them wore uniforms. They simply wore black bulletproof vests over their white dress shirts.

"I do understand that this might feel like a bit of a demotion," said Hassler. "The remainder of the security forces will be returning to base."

"That's okay, I mean, it's not like I did a lot of policing back at the base. Figuring out who ate someone else's yogurt from the community fridge? That wasn't too exciting. This might be an interesting assignment."

Hassler laughed again. He didn't really think about the lack of security issues back at the base. There had always been a group of at least 10 security officers at the base, regardless of whether there was an actual need for them.

Hassler got out of his chair and walked toward the door to his temporary office.

"Come on, dude. Let's go to the town's tailor and make you a sheriff's uniform," said Hassler.

Rodgers had s slight grin on his face and followed his friend out of town hall and into the town's main street. One would have thought that the main street in town was called "Main Street," but alas, it was recently renamed "Pilcher Avenue." They walked past the toy shop and then the bookstore. After they crossed the street, they reached the tailor's shop.

Krista Alfonso had only been the town's tailor for the past 7 months. During her previous life, she was a real estate lawyer. Not that anyone ever knew, since she never talked about it. She was seemingly assigned the tailor profession at random, although she did like designing clothes. She greeted Hassler and Rodgers as they entered her shop.

"Good morning, gentlemen," she said. "How can I help you today?"

Hassler looked through a large binder of various shirt designs. He then explained to Krista that he was looking for her to tailor make a couple of uniforms for the new town sheriff.

"Don't they supply those to you boys from over in Boise?" asked Alfonso. "Like the camouflage uniform you're wearing right now?"

"Maybe I just feel like injecting a little bit of money into the local economy," said Hassler.

Alfonso gave him a curious look for a couple of seconds, but then decided to go with it.

"So which one of yous is this for?" she asked. She picked up a small notepad and a pencil and started scribbling something on it.

Hassler gently nudged James to step forward.

"This gentleman here is your new sheriff," said Hassler with a bit of a smile.

Alfonso looked up for a second and then realized that the two men standing in front of her were roughly the same size anyway. James was maybe one inch taller.

"What colors would you like the uniform?" asked Alfonso.

Both Hassler and James hesitated.

"Isn't it usually some shade of blue?" asked Hassler. "I think I recall former sheriff Jason wearing a blue uniform at one point."

"Oh yea, what ever happened to that d-bag?" asked a curious Alfonso.

Hassler looked at Alfonso as if trying to evaluate her. He didn't disagree with the characterization, but did put her into the column of possible townsfolk who disliked Jason. Enough to want to kill him and perhaps be involved in a bombing. Then again, who didn't dislike Jason?

"He was… um… retired," said Hassler.

Alfonso wasn't sure what that meant. Jason was a "gen one" from the academy. Surely he wouldn't have been executed. But then again, who knows? The entire town was insane.

"How 'bout we go with mostly tan and dark brown accents?" asked Alfonso. "A new color scheme for a new sheriff."

"I like it," said James.

"Great!" said a smiling Alfonso. "So, what's our new sheriff's name? Just so I know the name to put on the order is all."

"Rodgers. James Rodgers," said James.

"Nice to meet you, Rodgers James Rodgers," said Alfonso.

"Some people call me J-Rod. Just because there are like five Jameses up in the mountain."

Alfonso smiled.

"My name's Krista Alfonso. My friends in Pittsburgh used to call me Fonzie."

"So you're from Pittsburgh?" said James.

Alfonso froze. She almost always obeyed the rule about not mentioning previous lives. She wasn't sure how she could let her guard down. James must've saw the terrified look on her face.

"No worries, I'm not here to bust you or whatever. Anyway, I'm not even sheriff yet."

"Um, yea, you are," teased Hassler. "You should take her downtown and interrogate her."

James brushed him off and his cheeks turned a little red.

"Anyway, I'll be back for the uniform. Like… tomorrow?" asked James.

"I think tomorrow is fine," said Alfonso. She was also a bit nervous. Not because she was worried about being arrested though.

"Tomorrow," said James as he exited the tailor shop.

"Oh, make that three uniforms," said Hassler. "Wouldn't want James to have to wear the same exact uniform every day."

"Gotcha," said Alfonso as she jotted down the number three on her little notepad.

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 **Later that morning.**

 **Wayward Pines Hospital.**

Ben Burke had been released for a few days and was now assigned to the hospital as a nurse's aide. The hospital administrator made it a point to keep Ben and Amy on different floors of the hospital and even on different shifts if possible. He didn't want to deal with the two of them possibly neglecting their duties to "hang out," as the young kids these days called it.

Vincent Hassler entered the hospital's cafeteria with a couple of soldiers in tow. He walked over to the table on the far end where Ben and Amy were having an early lunch together.

"Amy, I need a word with Ben. In private, if you'd please," said Hassler.

"Sure, we were just about finished anyway," said Amy. She got up from the table and left the cafeteria. Hassler's soldiers walked over to another table to give their boss some space.

"So how's life as a nurse's aide?" asked Hassler.

"It's fine," said Ben. "Kind of boring, I guess. They assigned me to the geriatrics ward, but there aren't many senior citizen patients that visit the hospital."

"Yea. And hopefully, there will be a lot less need for hospital staff after the bombing victims have all recovered. I feel like this entire hospital probably needs a handful staffers at most? Maybe two docs, four nurses, a couple of orderlies? I need to re-assign to you something more… productive."

"I've always wanted to be a musician," said Ben. His face lit up with optimism.

"I said productive," teased Hassler.

Ben shrugged.

"I've decided that you should follow in your father's footsteps," said Hassler.

"Secret Service Agent? Sheriff?" wondered Ben.

"Well…. One step at a time, young man," said Hassler. He handed Ben a star-shaped bronze badge. There was a circle in the middle with the word "patrolman" in a semi-circle on top.

"I've already picked a sheriff, but he needs a deputy and you're it," said Hassler.

Ben rubbed the badge with his thumb and thought about it.

"Why me?" asked Ben.

"Let's just call it an instinct," said Hassler.

Ben only needed a few seconds to agree.

"Beats hanging out here in the hospital in an empty ward," he said.

"Cool. After you finish your shift here, head over to Krista's on Pilcher Ave. Tell her I sent you and that you need a uniform similar to James Rodgers."

Ben nodded.

"Good luck, Ben," said Hassler as he got up. He extended his hand and they shook hands for a second. Hassler then walked out of the cafeteria with his soldiers in tow.

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 **Taco Belle Diner/Cafe**

[Major Hassler grabbed a quick lunch with his younger brother and the town's new sheriff.]

Major Hassler walked into Taco Belle and found James pretty much immediately. Hassler was in the mood for a chicken burrito. He also couldn't help but chuckle at the name of the establishment. He vaguely recalled that prior to the rebellion against David Pilcher, this place used to be called Jenny's café. The new owner decided to go with a Tex-Mex theme and blatantly ripped off the name of a former fast food franchise. The town's rule was nobody could talk about their previous lives, but it didn't specifically state that they couldn't refer to things from 1990s Americana.

"You know, I still have some trouble figuring out what era we are supposed to be living in," said James, half-jokingly as Hassler sat down across from him.

Hassler shrugged and placed his camouflaged baseball cap on the table next to him.

"The 1980s?" Hassler guessed.

"I dunno. Sometimes, it feels almost like the 1950s or 60s or something."

"Small town 1980s," said Hassler. "Small towns often felt like a blast from the past."

The two of them laughed a little bit. The décor in the restaurant definitely made it feel prior to the 80s. There was a juke box that spun vinyl records. The blue green leather booths came straight out of an episode of "Happy Days." Even some of the telephones were rotary dials. The only things that suggested 80s or 90s were the desktop computers at the sheriff's station and the hospital. James presumed there were others, but he had only really spent time in those two places. Though, the computers never seemed to work.

Hassler ordered a chicken burrito and a mountain dew.

"A mountain dew?" asked the waitress.

"Oh," said Hassler. He flipped through the laminated menu and then pointed to a soda pop that was neon green.

"You mean a Mellow Mist," said the waitress. "Would you like the Mellow Mist, Mellow Mist Upshot, Mellow Mist Xtreme, Diet Mellow Mist, Double Mellow Mist, or our new orange flavored Mellow Mist Code Orange?"

Hassler was a little bewildered by all the options. Especially in this small town.

"I'm just going to have the regular Mellow Mist," he said.

The waitress nodded and wrote it down on her little check pad.

Sheriff James chuckled.

"You know, that stuff'll kill ya," said James. "After all the trouble you go through surviving the zombies."

"Ha. Well, it'll be fun leaving behind a glow-in-the-dark radioactive corpse."

As they waited for their food, Hassler and James chatted about contingency planning for the next month. Hassler was going to be away on a mission, which meant if James had an emergency in town, he would have to rely on Hassler's second-in-command, Lieutenant Matthews. James and the young lieutenant didn't really get along well, but they would be okay.

"What's Rose going to be up to?" asked James.

"Not sure. Humboldt's got her on some other assignment. All classified."

"Even with you? You're the highest ranking field officer," said James.

Hassler shrugged.

"It is what it is," he said.

Major Hassler's younger brother Timothy soon entered the diner. He seemed to be in a relatively chipper mood. Although he usually disliked the general oppressive feel of Wayward Pines, he was hoping he could do his little part to make life in the tiny town more bearable. Tim joined his brother and Sheriff James.

Tim was very excited about his new projects. At first, he had been surprised when his brother recommended him to be a junior member of the town council. But he now had a feeling he would enjoy life in town at least slightly more than his life at the mountain base. Tim started going through ideas for what tv shows to program for the two tv channels that Wayward Pines could operate. He decided that one channel would be a movie channel and the other would run tv shows. The first channel was relatively easy, since Tim only had to pick one movie to run each night. The second channel was slightly more complicated. Tim settled on running three dramas each night for the time being, and left open the option to do half-hour comedies sometime in the future. As possibly his biggest decision, he decided to play the same three shows at 8pm, 9pm, and 10pm every night of the week, as opposed to the "normal" scheme of different shows every night and having to wait one week for a new episode of your favorite show. This was a gamble, since if the townsfolk didn't like any of the three shows Tim picked, then that entire channel would go to waste. Though, he also decided that every month, the shows would switch. And, if he got negative feedback, it was easy enough for him to change his programming scheme. Tim let his older brother pick on of the three tv shows.

"How about 'The Robot Executioner?'" said Vince. He was a science fiction fan in general, but this particular show mixed action with scifi. For the record, it was about an executioner who happens to be a robot, not an executioner who executes robots.

"Didn't that show only run for three or four episodes?" asked Tim.

"It ran for 10!" said Vince half-excitedly. The show had a small but loyal fanbase.

"That's a perfect number, since you're only running shows from Monday through Friday. It can go two weeks!" added Vince.

"Okay, I'll put it in the 10pm slot," said Tim. He wasn't as enthused as his brother, but he remembered the show vaguely and that he was reasonably entertained by it.

"So I maintain law and order and you two schedule tv shows. It must be nice living the relaxing life of a Hassler," joked James. Though, he knew the major was about to go on some mysterious mission soon.

"Hey, if we keep the populace content, there won't be any law and order problems to deal with," insisted Tim. Tim was also currently writing a newspaper article for the local paper to introduce the new tv channels he was bringing on air and to explain the programming format.

The three of them went on to discuss more about the tv shows they used to watch when they were kids. Although the town of Wayward Pines had a rule that nobody discusses their former lives, James and the Hassler brothers didn't hesitate to get into an in-depth discussion about their favorite shows. It wasn't necessarily that they felt they were above the law, although they were pretty damn close. It just didn't occur to them that such a topic would be out of bounds. Though, James soon accidentally stumbled into an off-limits subject.

"I've been meaning to ask you something about the abbies," said James.

Vincent Hassler simply shook his head sideways slightly.

"Not while in town, son," said Hassler in a low voice.

James realized his mistake and immediately dropped the subject.

Once Major Hassler finished his burrito and his Mellow Mist, he bid his brother and his friend farewell.

"I'm up in the mountain for the night and will return tomorrow," said the Major.

"See ya tomorrow, bro," said Tim.

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 **Project Prometheus Science Level – Conference Room**

 **Later that evening**

"So…. you're saying the aren't abbies?" asked a curious Vincent Hassler.

"Well… I think we can say they are a subset of abbies," said Hassler's chief microbiologist, Tian Li.

"We're calling them the Ivies," said a scientist named Adam.

"They have substantial advantages over the typical abbies, but also substantial weakness," said Professor Li.

"So my main question now is this: are the ivies integrated into the main abbie groups? If we make peace with the ivies, do we also make peace with the abbies?" asked Major Hassler.

"We would have to watch them interact in normal social settings," said another of Hassler's science team. "When we first found Hercules and Leo, they had been detached from their tribe. We never knew why. Now we have some idea. They may have left on their own accord. Or possibly shunned because they were different. We just don't know."

This new discovery might add some significant shifts to the timeline. Major Hassler had been hoping to forge some sort of truce within the next few months. Now, he can't even be sure that Hercules and Leo could communicate with the other abbies, much less convince them to cooperate with the humans. After thinking about the situation for a few minutes, Hassler decided to continue on with his project. It was worth trying.

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 **Wayward Pines Sheriff's Station**

 **The next morning**

Major Vincent Hassler entered at a little after 9:30 and was a bit surprised to see that there was a secretary at the desk. He had forgotten that the sheriff had a civilian secretary.

"Hi…. Erin," said Hassler as he read the name plate on her desk. "Can you please let the sheriff know that Major Hassler is here to see him?"

Erin nodded. "He's expecting you," she said.

Hassler walked past the secretary's desk and to one of the offices in the back. He also walked past a couple of the jail cells, which were now empty. Standing guard was newly deputized Ben Burke. He and the secretary would share the duty of guarding prisoners if there ever were any. Hassler nodded a silent hello to Ben as he walked by.

As he reached Sheriff Rodgers' office, he saw that the door was ajar, but knocked gently anyway.

James looked from his desk to the door and then waved Hassler in.

"Hey James," said Hassler. "Sorry for the short notice, timetable has been moved up a tiny bit. I'll probably be here two more days and then I'm off."

James nodded.

"So, just one last visit?" asked James.

"Maybe one more tomorrow but maybe not."

"Well, while you're here, let's get to my first achievement. We're going to take down those random corpses that Jason put up," said a smiling James.

"Sure, let's do this," said Hassler.

James called up the Director of the Parks and Recreations Department and asked for 5 workers to assist. The director seemed only too happy to lend his people. In fact, he said he himself would be there to supervise his team.

Hassler and James chatted for about ten more minutes before deciding to make their way down to the park near the carousel.

James picked up his sheriff's hat and put it on as he got up from his desk.

"Oh, by the way, that reminds me, the town's tailor says hello," said James. "She didn't quite know exactly who you were although she surmised that you were some sort of bigwig. I guess she's relatively new to town. I told her you were the Governor's son. The Governor of Idaho."

"Ha," chuckled Hassler. "That works for me!"

"Ben, come with," said James as he shut the door to his office. He didn't make it sound like an order, but he didn't have to.

James and Ben got into their sheriff marked SUV while Hassler hopped back into his hummvee. It would be a short drive. When the two vehicles arrived, a commotion was starting to develop. It seemed that word spreads pretty fast in the tiny town and there were already small groups of young adults standing in the park and protesting. They were intent on blocking the parks employees.

"Thank goodness you're here," said Mase, the parks (and library) director (they just happened to fall in the same division is all) of Wayward Pines. Hassler noticed that Mason addressed his statement more towards Hassler than to Sheriff James.

A young adult stepped forward from the crowd to greet Hassler. Perhaps an older teenager or maybe a twenty year old.

"We won't let you do this," she said angrily.

Hassler stood his ground patiently and waited for her to cool down. The teen, named Annabeth, stood her ground too, staring at Hassler silently.

After about half a minute, James interjected.

"Miss," James said. "If you and your classmates don't disperse, I'm going to have to arrest you."

"You guys can't take down the display," shouted Annabeth. "Under whose authority!? Where's Jason?!"

Hassler was extremely tempted to respond with "Under _my_ damn authority," but he held back. He understood that he was going to leave town very soon and he wouldn't be around to deal with these types of situations.

"Under Sheriff Rodgers' authority," said Hassler calmly. "Jason's no longer the sheriff here. If you interfere with the parks workers, the sheriff _will_ arrest you."

Annabeth stood there and thought about the situation for a bit. She seemed to back down and Hassler hoped she would not be trouble in the future.

James, Ben, Hassler, and Hassler's military driver stood by as the parks employees took down the corpses from the grisly display.

"Please make sure they got a proper burial," whispered Hassler to James.

James nodded in agreement.

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 **Two days later**

After meeting with his brother for one last time before his mission, Major Hassler stopped by the sheriff's office to get a final report regarding the security situation in Wayward Pines.

"Any new rumblings from our friends from the Wayward Pines Academy's Next Generation?" asked Hassler.

"Not much," said Ben. "They still seem to be a little bit irked, but they are adjusting to Sheriff Rodgers as the new authority in town."

Hassler was going to pull his men out of town by sundown. Wayward Pines would be left with just James and Ben as the keepers of order.

"James, I'm also going to take basically all the guns with me," said Hassler. "The armory will be empty."

"I understand," said James. He knew that Hassler didn't want the office broken into and the guns stolen. Hassler would leave James and Ben with their service pistols. James also had a shotgun hidden somewhere in his residence.

"Would you like me to leave one of the hummvees with you?" asked Hassler.

Hassler explained that his teams were going to roll out in tracked armored vehicles instead of the hummvees. It slightly alarmed James, as he now had the impression that the mission out of town would be more dangerous than Hassler originally led on.

James thought about the hummvee for a few seconds but ultimately declined.

"Nah. I think the SUV is fine."

Hassler stood up and shook the hands of both James and Ben.

"Well, gentleman. I wish you the best of luck," said Hassler.

"Same to you, Major, sir," said James.

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Will Hassler be able to make peace with the abbies?

Will James and Ben maintain peace and order in Wayward Pines?

Stay tuned for the next chapter!


End file.
